Disappearing Act
by Lord of the Swords
Summary: Meta Knight is having creepy strange dreams. On the other hand, Smashers are vanishing, until there is almost no one left. Can Meta Knight and his crew of friends save their fellow Smashers? Or will Meta Knight play on death's door, maybe even suffer insanity from nightmares?
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter One: Dreams and Questions**

He was in the battlefield. His terror rose in his chest; it was exactly as he remembered it. And it wasn't any less horrifying.

Sword and Blade fought off the armies monsters, only to get swarmed by more. But Meta Knight didn't recognize a spark of pink a few feet away, yet that voice…

"KIRBY!" yelled the knight.

As the child looked up, a WolfWrath pounced on him from behind. Meta Knight felt nothing but horror as his knaves went down, too, each with a WolfWrath's claws on their chest.

"META KNIGHT!" Sword screamed

"_Silence!_" the wolf monster that pinned him hissed telepathically.

_Sword… Blade… Kirby… _"Stop!" ordered Meta Knight. "Leave them alone!"

But his words fell on deaf ears as Sword shouted again.

"Let him be, you monsters! YOU VILE, WRETCHED _MONSTERS_!"

The WolfWraths exchanged glances before the one that trapped Sword looked down at the demanding knight.

"_Shame,_" it said. "_We like to play with our dinner first… But Master wants us to save the playing for later. You are annoying him…_"

"NO! SWORD!" Meta Knight and Blade screamed in unison.

Sword's eyes lit up with terror a millisecond before the WolfWrath's claws slashed across his throat.

"Sword…" muttered Blade, his voice rising in level as well as in emotion. "SWORD! PLEASE SWORD, PLEASE!" He let out a pitiful sob before rolling onto his side to face his best friend. "Please… _Please_…"

Meta Knight felt like he would cry himself as he looked from Kirby, who had a wolf monster's paw clamped over his mouth as he was held down and tears flowed down his face, to Blade, who was sobbing quietly into the night, whispering his friend's name over and over again.

_Poor Mety…_

Meta Knight looked around wildly.

_So alone…_

_Kill them._

There was a chorus of barking and yelling as Blade and Kirby died at the hands of monsters. Just as the WolfWrath trio began to circle him, they stopped, ears perked up before backing off.

_Sleep well, Mety._

Meta Knight's eyes went wide as he whirled around. His vision was suddenly dark red, and an evil laugh rang in his ears…

_**SSBB**_

Meta Knight awoke with a yell. His eyes shot open, and his breathing was fast and panicked. He calmed down and inhaled normally as he looked around and realized,_ Just a dream. A nightmare. How long has it been since I've had one?_

_Years._

_This has to mean _something_, it has to…_

Suddenly there was a bang like bone on wood, and Meta Knight leapt up, his hand on Galaxia's hilt and his wings flared.

"Ow, my head," came a voice below. "What's the yell for?"

"Yeah," said a voice to his far left. "Trying to wake us all up at five in the morning?"

Someone else, also to his left, asked, "Whazza wake up call for?"

"Nothing." Meta Knight's annexes slowly faded back into his navy blue cape, which he swished around his body in one elegant sweep. "I just…I just had a nightmare. Nothing to be concerned about…"

A lamp flicked on; Marth was peering up at him from below, and Ike and Link stared from the left side of the room. The lamp's switch was barely visible under Link's fingers. In Smash Mansion, five people shared a room. Pit still hadn't roused from the area straight across from Meta Knight.

Separating Ike and Link's bunk bed from Marth and the knight's bunk bed was a large dresser, flooded with photos. One pictured Marth and his sister, the other Link and Zelda, Ike's was of him and Roy, and Meta Knight had one of himself, Sword, Blade, Tiff, Tuff, and Kirby. The last appeared sitting on Meta Knight's head.

"But if it's so bad that you're screaming bloody death over there, I think we actually do," Link pointed out smartly.

"_I _think that you have the Triforce of Annoying Bigheads," Ike joked.

There was a muffled "hey!" as Link prodded Ike with his elbow.

_Maybe I should tell them… But I don't think I should get them involved in trouble… _Meta Knight pondered as fast as he could, trying to come up with a reply.

"I…dreamed that the Mansion was filed with monsters."

"Like NME's? That guy you don't like to talk about?"

Link's words made Meta Knight freeze, and he nodded, his head feeling heavy.

"Oh," said Link. "Okay."

But Marth, who was Meta Knight's best friend at Smash Mansion, gave the Star Warrior an _I-see-right-through-you _look. Meta Knight didn't meet the prince's eyes.

"I'm hungry," Ike whined.

"You always are," Marth observed.

"And you're an idiot." Link said.

Ike muttered something that sounded like "idiot yourself."

"_**GOOD MORNING, SMASHERS!**_" boomed Master Hand on the intercom suddenly, making everyone but Meta Knight jump.

Marth banged his head on the board that separated his bed from Meta Knight's, and whispered "Seriously!?"

Meta Knight simply looked up.

"_**AND – EH, IS THIS THING ON? OH, YES – WELL, RISE AND SUNNYSHINE! REPORT TO THE DINNING HALL FOR BREAKFAST AND TO HEAR THE SMASH-UPS!**_" There was a loud click before everything was silent again.

"The Smash-Ups? The match-ups sound better… And we've been here for a while…" grumbled Link.

Marth nodded.

"Who cares!? FOOD!" Ike screamed, rocketing out the door.

The remaining Smashers stared at the open door before exchanging a glance of amusement and set off in Link's wake, talking and laughing and joking.

Meta Knight was the only one of the four who didn't make a sound. He stared at the polished stone floor, his reflect gazing back at him with grass green eyes. What has the dream about? What did the voice mean by _sleep well?_ And why was he asking what felt like a million questions and feeling so nervous?

"HEY, WAAAAIIIIIIT!"

The four froze in mid-step, whirling around.

Pit was bounding toward them, failing his wings, and nearly tripping as he dashed. Once he was there, he stopped, his hands on his knees, panting and bent over.

"Where's Sir Meta Knight?" he asked.

They paused before swallowing and looking down at Pit's feet. Underneath lay Meta Knight, not very pleased at being trodden on.

"Oh, great Sky Lords, I'm sorry!" Pit whimpered, letting Meta Knight up.

Thanking the stars that no one saw the events that just unfolded, Meta Knight smiled under his mask and replied, "Quite all right, young angel."

Yet everyone saw that he was still not on the happy-go-lucky side. And they also noticed that he was still thinking extremely hard.

Meta Knight couldn't stop staring at Pit's sapphire blue eyes. They were tinged with red on the outside of the pupil.

_Suspicious. _

Before he knew it, they were at the entrance to then dining room.

"Come on in, come in, that way, follow Miss Samus…" Master Hand ushered them inside the dining hall, where they saw Samus, who did not enjoy being called a "miss."

Meta Knight took a seat between Marth and Pit, still not turning away.

"What?" the angel-boy asked, an angry tone creeping into his voice.

Meta Knight dropped his gaze to stare at the floor. Pit's personality seemed messed-up, too… And he intended to investigate. Just in case. In case something seemed all too wrong.

"Smashers!" announced Master Hand, floating to the front of the room as all eyes fell on him. "Before you enjoy this excellent meal, I will announce the Smash-Ups! First match, seven a.m., Meta Knight versus Pit! Second, Zelda versus Captain Falcon! Third and final for the a.m. brawls, Jigglypuff and Kirby versus Lucario and Toon Link!"

Meta Knight felt extremely nervous. From across the long banquet table, Lucario's crimson eyes were bright.

"_You fear the dream,_" the blue Pokémon's voice whispered in the knight's head. "_Pit… I'll watch him. His aura is foul, today. Keep your friends close, Sir Meta Knight. They might be your only chance…_"

**A/N: Okay, took a few days… BUT HERE IS THE SSB FANFICTION! Not often updated… 'Cause of stuff going on at school and sports and other stuff… BUT I HOPE YOU ENJOYED! REVIEW, FAVORITE, AND FOLLOW!**


	2. Chapter 2: The Brawl Match

**Chapter Two: The Brawl Match**

Meta Knight took a deep breath as the giant iron door slid up slowly, locking above him with a boom. He hadn't eaten a thing. Nor had Pit; the angel stared at the ground, red swallowing is normally sapphire eyes.

_There has to be something wrong. There has to be something wrong, there has to be, Pit has something wrong with him. And I have to help him._

Meta Knight shook his wings out and stepped into the sunlight, where the air was full of cheers and excitement. The barrier domed over the bottom of the stands, shielding watching Smashers from getting into the battles. Pit walked into the arena from the other end his eyes crimson. He stood on his circle with a triumphed look crossing his face.

"Woo-hoo, Meta Knight!" called Ike from above. "Wipe that smirk off his face!"

Meta Knight took his position, his cape flapping in the gentle breeze as the blue sky, dotting with clouds, vanished. Everything went dark.

"Well," said Master Hand from the stands, doing the announcing. "We've got the mighty Meta Knight, Brawl Champion, Star Warrior, and Highest Ranked Knight in the Galaxy, in the right corner! And in the left corner, the perplexing Pit, angel guardian of Palutena, Hero of SkyWorld, and skilled archer! The arena today…"

The hand gingerly spun a wheel, an arrow catching the pegs before landing on a new stage.

The Fields of Dreamland.

Meta Knight watched as the sky popped back into view, the same as before, and he felt grass sprout beneath his feet. The sun was warm on his body and flowers erupted from the ground. It was a meadow. Butterflies flapped lazily across the landscape, there was the occasional glimpse of Dyna Blade in the sky, and the Lor Starcutter was barely visible in the distance.

He looked into the evil eyes of Pit, who had his hands on his double sword.

"Ready? Set? FIGHT!"

Pit lunged at Meta Knight, his sword pointing straight for the knight's eyes. Meta Knight unleashed his wings and shot into the air, his wings surging violently as he escaped. Pit crashed onto the ground with a thud, but he was quickly up again, glaring at his foe before rocketing after him. Then it was an aerial war. Meta Knight dodged and struck back, only to have Pit parry the blow and lash out again.

The angel boy's attacks were too rapid, and Meta Knight's energy was slowly evaporating. One struck a homerun on his left wing, and his flight was leaned. He dropped to the ground as Pit hit his mark once more on the same wing, followed by the angel. Pit notched an arrow and shot.

Meta Knight swerved his uneasy flight out of the way.

"Holy _CRAP_, why is he bleeding? This arena is designed—I don't—STOP THE MATCH!" Ike hollered from the stands, panicking.

"MASTER HAND! YO, MASTER HAND!" yelled Marth, his voice bouncing off the walls of the stadium. But the hand seemed too horrified and confused to twitch a finger.

Link gazed down at the match, his blue eyes wide with shock.

Meta Knight's flight was wobbling like a roller coaster ride. Pit had many close misses, and Meta Knight's thoughts swirled like a cyclone through his head.

'_Keep your friends close…' That did _not _work._

"_Pit's aura—it's out of control! I can't—read—its all—red…_" Lucario's worried voice pulsed in the knight's mind. "_Get out, Sir Meta Knight! Get out while you can! I'll try to hold him—you run!_"

Pit stopped suddenly. He gave a scream and knelt on the grass, clutching his head, his teeth clenched. Meta Knight dropped to the ground and looked up, past the force field, into the glowing ruby eyes to Lucario. The Pokémon nodded.

Meta Knight, his scarlet and useless wing flopped on his side, made a crazed dash for the iron door, stealing hazy glances at Pit, who was slowly and unsteadily rising to his feet. And Meta Knight didn't like the look in those eyes.

"OPEN THE GATE!" screamed Master Hand. "OPEN IT! QUICKER, QUICKER, _OUICKER_!"

Meta Knight swung at the doors with Galaxia, but the sacred sword just bounced off, the blade gave a quiver, and the iron was unfazed.

_Dark magic._

"IT'S LOCKED!" Master Hand cried in dismay, watching as the newest Smasher took to the sky, his wing dangling in his wake, Pit slowly catching up.

"NO DIP, SHERLOCK!" Ike snarled, raged.

"SHUT UP, YOU MORON!" countered Marth in Ike's ear.

"HE'S GUNNA DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" wailed Ness.

"Yes!" cheered Snake.

"SHUT YOUR FACE!" everyone stormed.

"BUT HE'S GUNNA DIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIE!" squealed Lucas.

"DON'T JINX HIM!" Zelda hissed.

"Met Kni die? MEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEET KKKKKKKKKKKKKKNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII!" wept Kirby.

"_Silence, fools!_" Lucario grimaced at them. "_I am trying to stop Pit. The stupid barrier…I can't get a connection!_"

Meanwhile, Meta Knight was weaving through the air, sporting new slashes across his right arm. Pit was so close that if he reached out with his index finger, he would brush Meta Knight's feet. Meta Knight cried out as Pit's sword ripped through his shoulder armor and the flesh beneath, falling down hard.

"DO SOMETHING!" shouted Captain Falcon, an unlikely candidate for wanting Meta Knight to be aided.

"I'M _TRYING_!" roared Master Hand. "CHANGE ARENA!_ N'S CASTLE_!"

Meta Knight rolled woozily onto his back, avoiding a stab from Pit's blade as a castle erupted from the ground and the meadow vanished. Now in sight were two dragons, a vast white one with a fiery tail, and a mystic black one, with jets of lightning bursting from its bulky tail. From a platinum throne, a young man with spikey green hair surveyed the scene with his ice blue eyes.

The boy looked to the hand in horror, but then shook his head, his gaze on the floor. "There's nothing I can do… I am so sorry."

Then his head jerked up, and he looked into Marth's eyes with a smile. Marth slowly let his lips curve into a grin. Their eyes were so alike…yet they were so different…

"MASTER HAND!" yelled Marth. "LET HIM JOIN THE BRAWL! HE HAS TO, HE CAN SAVE META KNIGHT!"

Master Hand nearly dropped his microphone. Why didn't _he _think of that? "LORD N HAS JOINED THE BRAWL!"

The stadium exploded into cheers. N's smile got wide as he stood up, watching Meta Knight's weak attempts to roll away from Pit. The dragons shimmered and vanished.

"I call you," N grinned thrusting a Poke Ball into the sky, "the great and almighty ZEKROM!"

The giant black dragon shot out of the red and white ball. It roared, exposing its pearly teeth, electricity rocketing out of it's tail.

Pit stopped, his sword jabbed into Meta Knight's side. "That is not legit!" he screamed. Meta Knight blinked. Pit's voice sounded like a rock scraped along metal.

"He's… he's right." Master Hand muttered.

And N shimmered and vanished, along with his Pokemon.

"That's—not—FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIR!" Marth yelled.

"Calm yourself."

Marth whipped around to his left. N was leaning on the railing with his elbows, his eyes closed, his head down, and his hand on the brim of his cap. N opened his eyes, his eyes so much like Marth's, and smiled.

"He shall find a way."

Marth nodded as a breeze stroked through his long blue hair, and he swept it away from his forehead.

Meta Knight parried Pit's blows, but he was in bad shape, and Pit suddenly darted upwards to a rainbow light.

_Smash Ball._

The knight leapt into the air hopelessly, only to stagger back. Pit shattered the orb with a crack. Meta Knight readied himself to dodge angels, but Pit raced to him and whispered in a cold voice.

"Victory is…_mine_."

And then he slashed. It was the worst thing that Meta Knight had ever felt, and as the blades blotched into a black color, Meta Knight was sent flying to the other side of the room. There was a great SMASH. The knight made a crater where he had hit the wall, and he sprawled weakly on the ground. Rocks rained down on him, and he knew no more.

All the Smashers were screaming. N's eyes were moons of disbelief as Meta Knight friends yelled with horror.

Pit hollered and fell over, breathing heavily with his eyes screwed shut.

"This is my fault," N whispered. "I could have helped. I am…so…"

Ghetsis's hurtful words came back to him.

"I am useless."


	3. Chapter 3: The Throne in Black

**Yea, you excited? I know I was a bit confusing in the last chapter. My bad. Thank you, awesome reviewers! Next chapter I shall paste in a few reviews. But at present time, ENJOY!**

**Chapter Three: The Throne in Black**

_Beep. Beep. Beep._

Meta Knight flinched as his awareness faded back to him, the beeping noise shattering the darkness. His memory returned to him, and questions bubbled up to the surface of his mind.

"Rise and shine, Mister Hero."

Meta Knight's eyes flew open. His vision was fuzzy, and he waited for everything to clear. N was leaning on the wall with a smile, Marth was kneeling beside the knight's bed, and Link and Ike sat cross-legged in the two chairs on Meta Knight's left.

"I guess you should get my name, hmm?" said N, smiling wider. "I go by N."

"Nice…to meet you," Meta Knight muttered.

"Well, it's nice to see you awake," Marth grinned, "because Pit's been in and out to see if you were awake since he landed you here two days ago."

"Yerp," said Ike. "He's super upset. The doors got tampered with, something smelted them in the close. And your damage switch was melted on 'OFF,' so you took physical harm instead of knock-back."

Link stared at Ike in disbelief. "I_ hate _it when you're logical."

"I do, too," added Marth.

"Yes… Didn't make much sense. No offence," murmured N.

Meta Knight blinked. "I—Is he okay?"

"Yeah," Marth said. "He's embarrassed. And he locked himself in his room, so we three are sleeping here."

N frowned. "And I'm in your room now. So I'm locked out, too."

Doctor Mario waddled to Meta Knight's bed, his eyes fixed on a clipboard. "Oo-kay, you've got…" He flipped the piece of paper. "Broken left wing—fixed—dislocated shoulder—still gotta jam that back in—major blood loss—why you're on a stabilizer—and…concussion—healing."

"Could you _fix my shoulder and do it RIGHT_?" asked Meta Knight through clenched teeth. Doctor Mario had a record of incorrectly mending things. Sonic's leg was sore for days.

"Mm-hmm," muttered Doctor Mario.

_I hope he heard me._

Pit suddenly was knocking Doctor Mario out of the way, making them all jump. He wailed, "I'M _SORRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY_!"

"It's okay, Pit." Meta Knight glanced up at his heavily wrapped wing.

"But—but it's MY FAULT!"

"No, it isn't."

"I—when we woke up… I heard things…i-inside my head."

This perked Meta Knight's interest. "What did you hear?"

"I heard," whimpered Pit, "someone calling me… It told me to kill you… It made me see a star, and then…the star broke… And I don't know anything else."

Meta Knight frowned. Everyone, even N, looked positively stumped. Star?

"Well, whatever the case, at least you are all right," said Meta Knight with a confident nod.

His gaze traveled to the window, which was almost completely covered in ice. The other Smashers were barely visible, romping around, sledding, skiing, ice skating, and having snowball fights behind expertly crafted snow forts. Kirby was shoveling snow into his mouth, then smacking his lips and coming up to breathe, his Santa hat's white ball tip dangling from his head cutely.

"Well, Sir Meta Knight," Doctor Mario said tonelessly, "we'll let ya go. 'Joy the snow before it melts."

"But you told me that I had a dislocated shoulder—yet to fixed—and that I was on a stabilizer." Meta Knight shifted his weight.

"Now," glared Doctor Mario, "out, out, OUT!"

Meta Knight hopped up as he and his friends were ushered from his room. Doctor Mario slammed the door behind them, causing Meta Knight to trip and land on his shoulder with a snap.

"Dislocated shoulder," he grunted, standing up slowly, "fixed."

"I can't believe that he just kicked you out."

"I know, Marth."

"That's stupid."

"It is, Link."

"You're hurt."

"Yes, Ike."

"That's really stupid."

"Right, Pit."

"I still can't believe that."

"I cannot either, N."

"Let's head outside."

"Great idea, Marth."

**_SSBB_**

Meta Knight shivered, shaking flakes of snow off of his wings. He had forgotten to dress for snow, and with his broken wing, he couldn't transform his wings back into his dark cape. The snow was so deep that it covered his feet.

"Hey, Meta Knight," called Marth, "over here!"

Meta Knight stumbled over to his friend, who was crouching behind a beautifully crafted snow fort with Samus, Link, Ike, and Wolf. "At least you are not buried," he mumbled. "My injured wing feeling so heavy, out here."

"Snowball fight?" asked Wolf innocently.

"Hmm… All right." Meta Knight failed his wings again, then blinked fat, icy flowers out of his glowing eyes.

"Yeah," said Samus. "I figured you'd bite. You were looking bored."

"Other team is Fox, Falco, Mario, Luigi, and Ganondorf." Ike feebly rumbled up his hair.

"Yeah, and with Gan on their team, he's an easy target, big and takes up space," said Link jokingly with a lopsided grin, and a wink.

"And Ickle Foxie doesn't want to leave da fort, 'e tays its two cowld…," said Wolf evilly in a baby voice.

"Okay," said Mario from the other side. "Let's a-go!"

Meta Knight was rolling away from snowballs as his team ran to the middle of the field and hurled their cold bombs, then ran back, were Meta Knight scooped up snow lightly between his wings. His snowballs were round and heavy, smashing gaping holes in the enemy's fortress.

"Falco, down by Samus!" said Marth as he retrieved his snowball from his best knight friend. "Now Gan is down by Link."

Ganondorf sat in the outfields of the snow war with Falco, both wearing scowls.

Meta Knight leapt over the fort and to the middle, then let his snowball fly. Time slowed. Mario's ball raced toward him, seemingly at a billion miles per hour. Just as he braced himself to dart away, he fell over, his stomach twisting. His ears stung, his eyes rolled to the back of his head, he couldn't see, he hurt everywhere, he was dying…

And the snow melted away as Mario's bomb whisked past him. Meta Knight saw an obsidian floor, a golden throne that glittered with black jewels, red eyes like evil rubies, and a blue light over the night sky's darkness…

Then he was awake. He screamed, wanting it to end, to fade away, he wanted to die—Marth rushed over to him, shaking his panicked friend's side.

"Meta Knight! _Meta Knight! META KNIGHT!_"

Meta Knight went limp in Marth's arms for a moment, but he was quickly opened his eyes and started shaking, muttering for someone called Jecra to come.

"I think he's gone mad!" Link breathed.

Meta Knight stopped talking as Marth sat him down and his body met the cold snow.

"A throne, a room, red eyes, help Marth, I think I'm going insane," ranted Meta Knight, "I'm so weak, I'm so stupid, I'm too dangerous, I should have stayed in Dream Land, I should have let Nightmare kill me, I want it to end…"

"It's okay," soothed Marth. "You're not weak. Why are you dangerous to us? In brawls you beast but—what?"

"I don't want to talk about it. I'm so weak, I'm going mad… You should hate me, but you're right doing that…"

"I'll tell you who hates you," growled a voice, "ME!"

Snake stormed over, a snowball slipping off of his jaw.

"If you ever, you're the filthiest, nastiest, it's obvious you're Nightmare's son, you're horrible!"

Meta Knight jerked back as Snake's boot dug into his wing.

"Back off, you lot," said Ganondorf, "its one thing to hate a lad, but it's another to call someone a son of a tyrant and when he's had such a vision! My gods, you crazy fellow, get a freaking grip!"

Snake huffed, gave Meta Knight a swift kick, and raged off.

"Ganondorf," said Link slowly, "unless you steal my Triforce or cause a crap load of trouble, I don't think I hate you anymore."

"Beautiful!" beamed Ike.

"Aaaaaaaaaaaaaah," muttered Mario and Luigi in unison.

"You're going to a medic, dude," said Falco. "He's seeing mad stuff."

"Agreed, he's in need of rest in his room," Wolf said in a quiet voice, as Fox nodded solemnly.

Meta Knight swallowed. There was a tyrant on the loose, and he was going crazy.


	4. Chapter 4: When You're Gone: To Darkfire

**Never mind, I don't want to rewrite this. Darkfire374 made me realize that I shouldn't. I want to thank him and the fellow reviewers for their support. I was afraid that this couldn't go on, basically because of volleyball (yes, that's my sport) and school. But YAY, I MADE TIME FOR FANFICTION! Of course. Enjoy this short, sucky chapter!**

**Chapter Four: When You're Gone...?**

Meta Knight woke up in Marth's bed, his eyes hazy.

"Why does that keep happening?"

"Shhh, Ike!"

"You'll wake him!"

"Link, shut up, you're shouting t - "

Meta Knight was staring at them in surprise. They stared back. "So I'm not dead," he said tonelessly.

"Nope!" Ike smiled.

Meta Knight grinned. "Good to hear."

N walked in with Ganondorf, and beamed. Marth was beside him, sitting cross-legged, holding his hand as if to say: _It's OK. _Ike was leaning on the wall to the right, at the bed's board that was behind the pillow. Link was sitting Indian style on the floor.

"How long was I out _this_ time?" asked Meta Knight.

"Hmm...," muttered Link, who stole a glance at the alarm clock on the dresser. "A week."

Ike whacked Link round the head. "Stop joking!"

Link grinned. "OK, OK, just four hours."

"Good," Meta Knight nodded.

Pit raced in and hollered, "Dinner, guys!" He dashed out, but in an instant had his head in the doorway with a smile. "Oh, hi, Sir Meta Knight!" Then he was gone.

"FOOD TIME!" screamed Ike. And with a sigh from all but Ike, everyone followed.

* * *

Crickets chirped as the stars exploded in the sky. Meta Knight stared at them calmly, recapping. N had been given a room alone with Pit, so the inhabits of this room decreased. Marth flipped off the lamp.

"G'night, Link, Ike...Meta Knight," he said.

"'Night, everyone," Link smiled through the darkness.

Only snores were heard from Ike's bunk.

"Good night," said Meta Knight. But just as he was ready to sleep, the window was thrust open. A shape leapt in, and Ike yelled as the figure slipped a sack over his head.

Marth jolted up, as did Link. Marth shouted as he was bagged, too. Link yelled and all was quiet. Meta Knight drew Galaxia and hissed, "Show yourself, coward!"

The figure, who had been binding Ike's and Marth's hands, looked up with a new sack in his hands. Meta Knight snapped open his wings and leapt down to face the kidnapper. The stranger shoved him off and jumped for the window, only to have Meta Knight grab onto him.

"You're not getting away with my friends!" he roared.

"You son of a tyrant!" cursed the stranger. Suddenly he struck Meta Knight in the head.

And everything faded away...


End file.
